12 Step Program...

Step Eleven

Nine Responsibilities of a CMC Board of Directors

By law, the governance board of a CMC is the legal owner and final authority for the institution whose assets and operation it holds in trust. It is this board that assumes ultimate legal, moral, and spiritual accountability for the work of the organization, and thus it must be satisfied that the organization is headed in the right direction.

1. Govern Through Policy
From the outset, the board must govern by establishing policies that affirm where the organization has come and where it is going. The purpose of policy is not to squelch individual thought and expression but to provide clear parameters within which the staff will work to achieve the organization's mission.

2. Select Quality Board Members
The goal is building an effective team with varied talents and experiences. Seek to develop a profile of skills, experiences, and characteristics that complement each other and are desirable in board members.

3. Ensure Vision and Clarity of Mission
Boards need to ask questions like: How is the culture changing? Is our organization competing with others unnecessarily? And each board member needs to ask: What can I bring to this organization that will help it be even more effective?

4. Provide Spiritual Leadership and Prayer Support
Every CMC has a Christian mission statement and this presupposes a common faith and worldview that puts a predominant value on spiritual leadership and prayer. Members should be encouraged to spend personal time in reading, contemplation, and prayer on behalf of the ministry.

5. Organize the Board for Effectiveness

The Executive Director and Chairperson should define clear roles for members.
Establish clear and consistent methods of communicating with members.
Meaningful meetings should have: a concise agenda; an effective chair; simple, clear committee reports; and good personal relationships among board members.
Ensure that every member receives orientation on the history, organization, and peculiarities of the CMC.
Set up meaningful committees.
6. Appoint, Empower, Support, and Evaluate the Executive Director
The executive director is expected to implement the vision, mission, and policies the board has established. The board should periodically evaluate the executive director's performance.
7. Facilitate a Strategic Plan
The strategic plan translates the mission and vision into goals that can be measured and accomplished. This plan, once approved by the board, becomes the road map for the direction of the CMC.

8. Management of Financial Resources
As owners of the CMC, board members have an important responsibility to oversee the acquisition of financial resources and to manage those resources with integrity. This responsibility includes oversight of the budget, financial plans, investment strategies, and verification of internal financial controls.

9. Represent the CMC to the Public
As representatives, board members become important links among the stakeholders. They must listen to others' views, report the accomplishments of the CMC, and help spread the vision of the organization to potentional contributors and the general public.